This
by ShatteringDaybreak
Summary: "It's never failed her before. It gives her all the answers and has gotten her through some pretty tough scrapes. Logic always has answers everything. Except this."


**A/N: This is my first HP oneshot, so don't be too harsh. I guess this would take place during the 7th book (So there'll be spoilers for it, though why you'd be on a HP fanfic site and not read the last one, I have no idea). And this has probably been done to death, but I'll do it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I wish day after day that Harry Potter could be mine, but alas, it is not so. Maybe I'll ask Santa...**

This

Logic has always been her cornerstone. It was the friend she never had as a child, the concept that she could always lean on. Whenever she was confused, she could compartmentalize, organize her thoughts, and use her trusted logic to find the best answer.

Logic helps her solve everything.

Except _this_.

Logic won't tell her why she seems to lose all control of herself whenever _he's_ around. She'll stutter, blush, and forget what she wants to say. And when he gives her that crooked little half-smile, her heart races, her palms sweat, and her knees go weak. She thought it was a recurring case of the flu at first, but that didn't explain why all these symptoms only appear when he's around. As soon as he leaves the room, she can gain control of herself. These encounters leave her baffled. She's always been able to keep her emotions in check. This helplessness is unfamiliar territory for Hermione Granger.

Her roommates tell her she's in love, but she disagrees. How can she be in love with her best friend? He's acted like a complete git multiple times, and he'll probably continue to act like that in the foreseeable future. Logic dictates that she should just stay away from him.

But she can't. It's impossible. It's like he's a magnet, drawing her toward him. She literally cannot leave him. She'll lean toward him ever so slightly when they sit next to each other. She really hopes that he hasn't noticed this, and is pretty sure he hasn't. After all, he isn't the most observant person in the world. And why would he be looking for it? She's his friend, nothing more.

Sometimes she likes to imagine that his hand will linger a little longer than necessary when he's grabbed her by the hand and dragged her somewhere, but that's another effect he seems to have over her. Hermione's imagination runs wild whenever he's with her. She can see them building a future together. She can see herself sitting in a cozy little kitchen in a cozy little house, cooking breakfast for a redheaded girl with brown eyes and a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

She shakes her head to clear the daydream from her mind and chastises herself. It's silly to think like that, he doesn't reciprocate those feelings. So she buries the visions deep, deep within her.

She sighs. She reluctantly supposes it must be love. She's read enough Muggle fiction to know that. But he remains as oblivious as ever. Her inner realization changes nothing in the outside world. Life goes on as usual.

But Hermione Granger is tired of life as usual. She knows the future ahead of them is bleak, knows that there is a chance that they might not make it. She wants to tell him of her feelings. So she works up the courage to tell him when...he leaves.

He abandons her. He can't get it past his thick skull that she loves _him_, not Harry. Her heart is broken. After all they've been through together, and he just walks away. She swears that she'll never let anyone else in that deep. She'd told him her dreams, her goals, her fears. He hadn't laughed at her aspirations, had never told her she'd never make it. He'd promised to be there for her whenever she needed him.

Well, she needed him now.

Where was he?

Gone.

She thought he cared, but he'd left. What would keep others from doing the same?

She stops talking. She moves mechanically through their routine. Time drags on slowly, but also passes in a blur. Then...he's back.

She's horrified at the surge of joy that rushes through her when she first sees him. She wants nothing more than to leap into his arms right then. But she remembers how much he hurt her, how he'd broken her heart. So she covers up her happiness by attacking him. She wants him to hurt as much as she had, even though she's secretly thrilled by his return.

And he's matured. He's no longer the boy who left after throwing a temper tantrum. She doesn't know specifically what happened to him while he was gone, but whatever it was, it needed to happen. She admires the way he takes charge once Harry becomes obsessed with the Hallows. He leads them when no one else can.

And her love grows stronger every day. She's not sure how long she can keep it a secret.

Then, one day, she can't. He has the brilliant idea of going to the Chamber of Secrets. He manages to get them down there, and comforts her when she has a panic attack after seeing the creature responsible for her petrification. They bring the fangs back up and find Harry.

Then, she hears him mention the house-elves. He's saying that they should evacuate them, keep them safe. He's spent years teasing her for her devotion to house-elf rights. Now, he's saying something that could just as easily have come from her mouth. The next thing she knows, the basilisk fangs are slipping out of her hands, and she's running...

All of a sudden, she's in his arms, and she's kissing him. She's running her fingers through his hair (which is much softer than she'd imagined) and she's tasting his lips (surprisingly, he tastes a lot like mint). The best part, though? He's kissing her back. His arms are wrapped tightly around her, and his lips are pressing against hers, and he's pressing her tightly to him. She's thinking about nothing, only savoring _this_.

Logic was her cornerstone...until now.

**A/N: Well, how'd I do? The story kind of ran away from where I'd planned on taking it, so sorry if the beginning doesn't match with the rest of it. **

**Reviews=love!**


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